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On the first day uninsured Texans can sign up for a subsidized policy, antipathy towards the Affordable Care Act remains strong in Texas.

Four in 10 Texans reported having an unfavorable view of the law in a new poll released by the Texas Lyceum, a nonpartisan, nonprofit state leadership group.

About 36 percent of adult Texans registered support for the ACA, with feelings running strongly along partisan lines. For instance, 64 percent of Democratic respondents said they favored the ACA while 67 percent of Republicans said they disliked it.

Of those Texans who reported they were uninsured, 57 percent said they were likely to try to secure health insurance through the marketplace system that opened today.

Texas is among a handful of Republican-led states that have declined federal incentives to expand Medicaid coverage to low-income adults. The poll showed Texans approve of that decision, with 49 percent saying keep Medicaid as it is and 41 percent saying it should be expanded.

Here are some other issues explored in the Lyceum poll, which questioned 1,000 adult citizens, using telephone land lines and cell phones from Sept. 6-20. The margin of error shows that results can vary 3.1 percent in either direction.

What is the most important issue facing the country today?
The economy 25%
Syria 11%

What is the most important issue facing Texas today?
Education 13%
The economy 11%
Immigration 11%

Which is the biggest threat to your safety while driving?
Other drivers texting 42%
Drunk drivers 27%

What should be the top priority for using restored education funding?
Increase teacher pay 31%
Hiring additional teachers 24%
Invest in computers 16%

A statewide ban on texting while driving won final passage in the Texas House with a 97-45 vote on Thursday.

The legislation by Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, now heads to the Senate. It’s unclear what its final outcome will be if it reaches Gov. Rick Perry’s desk because two years ago Perry vetoed a similar bill.

Craddick’s bill, known as the Alex Brown Memorial Act, honors a Lubbock teen killed while texting and driving. It would ban texting, emailing or reading instant-messaging while driving. Violators could face a $100 fine and a misdemeanor traffic ticket. Motorists could still talk on their cell phones while driving.

AUSTIN — Multitaskers beware, a familiar bill to ban texting while driving was filed today by former House Speaker Tom Craddick in advance of the upcoming legislative session.

The bill rehashes Craddick’s attempt to ban texting and driving last session, which passed the Legislature but was vetoed by Gov. Rick Perry, who said that although texting and driving is “reckless and irresponsible,” the bill “is a government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults.”

Anyone who has driven past a driver distracted by their phone may be happy to know that the bill proposes the issuing of an offense for anyone caught sending or reading a message or email from a wireless device unless the car is stopped.

It, however, doesn’t apply to dialing a number, using GPS or voice-operated technology (Siri, you lucked out).